SAN DIEGO -- A federal proposal to designate San Diego County part of a key electric transmission corridor could put the fate of the controversial Sunrise Powerlink in the hands of the federal government.

The Energy Department said Thursday it wants to designate 11 counties in Southern California, western Arizona and southern Nevada as one of two "national interest electric transmission corridors," The San Diego Union-Tribune reported.

The other corridor unveiled Thursday would cover a wide portion of the Mid-Atlantic region, according to the newspaper reported.

Under the Energy Policy Act of 2005, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission can override local and state opposition to new transmission lines if the agency deems them necessary to eliminate power-grid bottlenecks.

The act also allows utilities to ask FERC to review transmission line proposals within a designated corridor if state regulators reject them or fail to act on them within a year.

San Diego Gas & Electric has proposed the Sunrise Powerlink as a 150-mile, $1.4 billion transmission line from Imperial County across several communities in San Diego's North County. SDG&E says the line is needed to ensure reliable electricity in the region and to tap renewable energy projects it expects will be built in Imperial County.

State utility regulators are considering the project amid outcry from community, environmental and consumer groups who say the line is unnecessary, too expensive and that its path across Anza-Borrego Desert State Park would be environmentally damaging.

A federal decision on state-rejected transmission lines wouldn't come immediately. FERC would conduct a full review and consider alternatives, the Union-Tribune reported.